|
|
“The role of the social architect recognizes that acting on what matters for one person will happen in concert with those around that person. Individual effort will not be enough. If we do not encourage others to find their own meaning, their own voice, we will never be able to sustain our own.”
—Peter Block, from The Answer to
How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters
- I will experiment with writing at several different times of day (in the same day), for several days in a row, mixing it up with an occasional day off, etc., to see whether there are some patterns and habits that work better than others.
- I will look for magazines and journals that publish the kind of things I like to write.
- I will develop a habit for working in several different forms and stages of creative production in parallel, keeping lots of balls in the air—stream-of-consciousness exercises, first drafts, editing and polishing, final drafts, brainstorming exercises, idea-mapping, creative play, etc., in short fiction, personal essay, memoir, flash fiction, a book-length project or two, etc.
- Topic: My writing day
- I will learn to work in noisy, public places (as a change of pace, not for the bulk of my work).
- Topic: My ideal place to write
- I will develop more one-on-one social contact with other writers.
- I will experiment in combining my everyday writing routine with travel.
- I will read with greater intentionality and more careful attention.
- I will also read for the joy of reading.
- I will make some income writing.
- I will win a writing contest.
- I will attend more readings by writers whose work I enjoy.
- I will subscribe to more periodicals that publish fiction.
- I will write on nights when I’m sure that I’m much too tired to write.
- Topic: Life in the suburbs
- When someone makes a suggestion about a text I’ve written, I will pay careful attention.
- I will go on a retreat to a beautiful place when I can write in a peaceful setting.
- I will write second (and third) drafts of some of the many first-draft pieces in my possession.
- I will open a separate checking account for my writing work.
- I will start a QuickBooks file to track the finances of my writing career.
- Topic: Imagination as the root of “intuition”
- I will return to the practice of keeping a reading list.
- Topic: The waterfall at Cade’s Cove, Tennessee
- I will schedule writing times and then honor them, even when presented with the tempting offer of a social outing. (But not every time.)
- I will explore more deeply the development of characters.
- I will experiment with unusual forms.
- I will write a six-word bio. (Or many of them.)
- I will idea-map on a more regular basis.
- I will seek out workshops on some specific areas of writing craft: characterization, writing dialog, etc.
- When I travel, I will keep travelogues. But I will try to tell a few interesting stories or observations instead of an exhaustive journal of the trip.
- I will figure out how to enable Gallery 2 software to make it easier to incorporate images into my blog.
- I will pursue the idea of using my blog as a form of postcard for my next big trip.
- Topic: Deception
I will refine a couple of pieces to read at the Spectrum Center Community Reading on April 13.- I will write a book to dedicate to Gika. (Guess who suggested this one.)
- Topic: The smell of the bathroom at Latina Café.
I will fire an irritating graphic-design client (or all of them).- Topic: Pasteleria
I will go to the beach.- Topic: The new cathedral in Houston
I will take a few days off from writing to reflect on having completed the 50/50 class.I will beat myself up about letting my writing habit lapse for a couple of weeks when I had been doing so well.- I will stop reading books about creativity.
- Topic: College roommates
- I will still think of myself as a creative person even if I’m not having a creative day.
- I will feel free to disregard writing advice that doesn’t make sense for my style and voice.
I will agonize over the last exercise, dragging it out for days and days and days.I will leave this exercise unfinished in the interest of getting on with writing.And then I thought of a few more things that ought to be on the list.
- I will put together the curriculum for a workshop on new technologies for writers.
- I will reinstitute the good filing habits that fell by the wayside when I started the 50/50 class.
- I will remain curious about ways to improve my writing practice.
- I will try to have lots of fun.
- I will get better at it.
Note: The assignment was to “make a list of fifty things that might come next for you as a writer.” I’ve been working on it on and off for the last 19 days. Enough!
The items marked with a “strikethrough” line have already been completed.
© 2008 Edward F. Gumnick
Professor Harlebut believed that hot water was the defining characteristic of human civilization. “It’s what separates us from the savages. From the beasts, no less!” he was often heard to say at cocktail parties.
As he lounged in the bathtub catching up on his reading, he considered the possibility that the entire trajectory of human evolution had been established by the temperature of the pool of slime where the first amino acids congregated. He was absolutely convinced that the puddle in question had been warm. He used the big toe of his right foot to twist the handle labeled H. He settled deeper into the sudsy water. …more
In the last several years, I’ve spent a lot of time exploring ways to broaden my understanding of the Universe and of my little corner of it. One way that’s produced striking results was a course I took last summer called Mastery of Learning. It’s taught by Chris Welsh, whom I met by way of Mattison Grey, a client, coach, and friend of mine. (You’ll read about Mattison in future blog postings.)
Chris calls Mastery of Learning “an evolutionary program designed to rekindle your curiosity and give you the tools to satisfy it.” He presents the course as a series of one-on-one training sessions. He customizes his presentation to suit the interests, needs, and schedule of the learner; in my case, there were five sessions, each about three hours long. Each session combines teaching, training in specific learning skills, and some very masterful coaching to bring clarity and focus to what you’re learning.
It’s essentially a course in learning to learn more effectively. But at the same time that Chris is working with the learner to cultivate some very useful learning skills, he introduces …more
|
|
Recent comments